Stay
by Kiseki-no-neko
Summary: He led her into the back, already smirking at the thought of Theo’s complaints, he would just have to kick another stool out from under him if need be. -JF- -Oneshot- -Hinted Fran/RJ-


Stay

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Disclaimer: If I owned Power Rangers, it'd be on primetime. 'nuff said.

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By: Bunny-chan

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Author's Notes

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Okay, so…the premiere of Jungle Fury was pretty damn good. I mean, well…I'm not impressed with ANY of the Rangers whatsoever. Casey is NOT Red Ranger material, Theo is a stuck-up jackass, and Lily is WALLPAPER. The only good guys I care about are RJ and Fran, which is why this ficlet is for them, yee. For some reason I have this insane theory in my head that Fran's 'rents are super-rich, and she hates them and is "slumming" so to speak, but really is pretty awkward and all…I might play with that later…hee. Anyway, I hope I got the characters down from the two episodes we get, heh, hope you all enjoy.

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RJ watched as Fran carefully placed the chairs on top of the table, the parlor closed for the day, and the Rangers having already retreated upstairs. With slow precision, she pulled off her apron, folding it carefully, and placing it behind the counter by everyone else's. He noted that she seemed to be taking her time, like she was prolonging leaving. "Fran?"

She froze, her hands still on a pile of books she was about to place in her backpack, "Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

Her eyes were wide behind her glasses as she shook her head, "Nothing's wrong at all."

He gave her a look that clearly stated he didn't believe her, but nevertheless, he wasn't going to push the issue if she didn't want to talk about it. She sighed slightly, lowering her head, "I just…don't want to go home tonight."

"What happened?" He was putting up his chef coat and hat, green eyes focused on her as she settled herself down on her normal stool, and he leaned towards her, arms placed on the counter, as was the norm between them.

She smiled slightly, not realizing that it was tinged with bitterness, "Just the usual…I had another fight with my parents."

He resisted the urge to reach over and take her hands into his, just barely, because really, she was his employee and they were friends, and she was…_Fran_, and he couldn't go there, "Ah, the whole why-can't-you-be-a-respectable-daughter-that-we-can-parade-around spiel again?"

She nodded, "Exactly, I'm just so…tired of it; I can't help it if I'm not a prized horse they can show off to their perfect rich friends."

"You shouldn't let them get to you like that, Fran; you're great just the way you are." And it was true, he never gave false praise, there was so much to the girl in front of him that people just flat-out ignored because they couldn't look past her looks. She was incredibly smart, had to be from all the reading she did, she was a quick learner, after all, she had known how to run the place entirely by herself while he had to run out and save his new students butts, she was perceptive, she had always known there was more to him than the laidback pizza chef, and despite what everybody thought, she was more than beautiful, inside and out.

She hid her blush by turning her head to the side to continue to pack up her books, murmuring a soft thank you. She shouldered her backpack, hopping off the stool and glancing around the parlor almost as if she would never see it again, his voice halted her in her tracks, "Fran, you know I'll always be here if you need me, right?"

She turned to look at him, kind eyes almost bringing tears to her own, and she swallowed thickly, before nodding and starting to babble, "I know, RJ. You always let me come in here and bug you everyday, even before you hired me, and you didn't have to, and I can't thank you enough for it, and you never looked at me like some silly rich girl who was bemoaning her life because she thought her parents were too stifling, when she clearly had everything and didn't appreciate it, but I do, really, it's just I wish people could see what you see, and-"

"Fran…" He was completely amused, as he generally tended to be when she started to babble, and she didn't know when he had come from behind the counter and stood before her, she guessed it was sometime when she started staring at the floor.

She smiled up at him, "Breathe, right?"

"Wasn't what I was gonna say, but yeah, remember to keep doing that."

"What were you going to say?"

"I was going to say that you were never a bother around here, you've always been fun to talk to, and I wish other people saw in you what I see too." Brown eyes grew large as warm hands that smelled of pizza dough settled on her shoulders.

This was like all those romance novels she read that she hid under her bed because even though she refused to let the maid clean her room, she was still paranoid somebody would find them anyway. Next he would lean down and whisper how beautiful she was, and then kiss her until she was breathless. And…wow, he really was leaning down towards her, she closed her eyes expectantly, but instead of feeling his lips on hers, she felt them on her forehead instead. She opened her eyes, blinking in surprise, catching his amused expression, but there was something else in his eyes that showed her that he couldn't quite cross that line, not with her.

"I should…probably go, I just hope I don't get yelled at for hanging around here again." She lowered her head slightly.

RJ considered the options in his head, as he continued to rest his hands on her shoulders, preventing her from leaving. He could let her go, run back home to get yelled at by her overbearing parents for "slumming" around a pitiful excuse of a pizza joint, or he could let her stay here for the night. She would have to bunk with the others, and they'd probably complain, or well, Theo would definitely complain, Lily would be for it, and Casey would just shrug it off. So they would just have to deal with it, after all, he didn't _have_ to take them in and mentor them, he could have whoever he wanted to stay for a night. And besides, he had the eerie feeling Fran already knew all about his students, she was perceptive that way. "Fran…why don't you stay the night?"

She was pretty sure her face was the equivalent to a tomato now, "Really?"

"I wouldn't ask if the offer wasn't completely sincere."

She looked up at him, smiling brightly, "Okay."

He led her into the back, already smirking at the thought of Theo's complaints, he would just have to kick another stool out from under him if need be.

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End file.
